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Saturday, June 24, 2006

Book: The Last Song of Dusk
Author: Siddharth Dhanvant Shangvi
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 336 pages

From the land of the Kama Sutra comes the story of a young woman, her life, her triumphs, her losses, her sorrows and her joys. The Last Song of Dusk brings together tantalizing and mellifluous language and a touching and heartrending story of love and life. A plot that is simple yet intense traces the story of a young woman, the protagonist, after she leaves her hometown of Udaipur to marry Vardhaman, a wealthy young doctor in Mumbai.

A debut novel by Sidharth Shangvi, Last Song of Dusk takes it readers through a melodious journey filled with a mix of emotions, bliss, love, lust, sadness, and revolves around three main characters, all of whom have tremendous depth and detail.

Anuradha, the protagonist and her husband Vardhaman are the lead players in this tale. With a transitioning Bombay, influenced by the British Raj, in the backdrop, they meet and marry and procreate. In the midst of all this is Divibai, the hateful mother in law who is the anti-thesis of all things good, and her pet parrot that strangely says everything that Divibai thinks.

In spite of Divibai, life is beautiful for Anuradha and Vardhaman. Mohan is their little son, who has brought even more beauty and joy into their lives. Alas this is not for very long. Calamity befalls Mohan, who passes away. Shangvi portrays this demise in a very dramatic and heartbreaking manner.

Circumstances force Anuradha to go to her parents home to recoup. Here the third character in the novel joins the story. The untamed and wild Nandini Hariharan whose world is full of optimism, ambition, and drive, nothing can stop her. She becomes a surrogate daughter to Anuradha who takes Nandini back to Bombay.

What happens after Anuradha and Nandini return to Bombay, forms the crux of the novel. … The back story of a homosexual Englishman and Indian who refuses to come out of the closet is thrown in gracefully, and brings verve to the main plot.

Shangvi’s characters are well drawn up and profound. The melodious and delightful lady Anuradha, the calm and sophisticated sahib Vardhaman and the wild and reckless Nandini, each are well thought out and completely contrasting characters who in unison make beautiful music. The rest of the characters in the novel are beautifully laid out as well.

A very unusual setting, Shangvi brings to life the Bombay of yesteryears, the salon lifestyle and the memsahibs. For a change, no mention of the slums of Bombay or the poverty that it soaks in. The lifestyles of the eccentric, rich and popular are brought out charmingly in this narrative.

A strong element of fantasy is magnificently interwoven into a poignant love story – Dariya Mahal, the house with passion, a woman’s lure for leopards, a girl who walks on water, supernatural music that triggers happenings and many other intonations that are surprisingly apposite to the situation.

This book will be republished in June 2006 in the US after, being on the bestseller list in other parts of the world. Shanghvi, who was 26 years old when his bestselling debut novel “Last Song of Dusk” was honored with U.K’s,Betty Trask award and Italy’s Premio Grinzane Cavour.

Do we have another Hari Kunzru in the making? Labeled by the media as the next Arundhati Roy, or Salman Rushdie version 7.0, Shangvi lives in Bombay and Northern California.

Shangvi using his poetic, elegiac, rythmic and harmonious use of language and a strong and eventful plot seduces his readers with The Last Song of Dusk. Shangvi entertains, thrills, distresses, surprises and provokes his readers with wit, charm and incredulity. This certainly is not Shangvi’s last song, looks like the concert is just beginning.

Anuradha’s throat felt like a live coal. She looked up and tears raced down her cheeks. Where are the small mercies? Right then, through the tearful prisms of her gaze, she saw a most spectacular sight. There, in the distance, in a raggedy blue gown, hair cut short as a tramp’s, arms bamboolike, feet making long strides, was an adolescent girl walking over Lake Pichola. And what do you know! She was as lovely as the moonlight stuck in puddles. No, Anuradha argued with herself, this cannot be. I’ve been asked to believe much in the last few months. But a girl walking on water? No! I won’t buy that. To confirm her doubt, she ran breathlessly down to the pergola, where she motioned to the girl. The ruffian looked up as slowly as she could: her hair was wild but secre in it’s wildness, and her stride was strikingly feline.

“Were you really walking on water?” Anuradha asked her when she was in earshot.

“Walking on water?” the girl said, entirely unflustered. “That’s nothing! You should see how I do it on land.”

From the land of the Kama Sutra comes the story of a young woman, her life, her triumphs, her losses, her sorrows and her joys. The Last Song of Dusk brings together tantalizing and mellifluous language and a touching and heartrending story of love and life. A plot that is simple yet intense traces the story of a young woman, the protagonist, after she leaves her hometown of Udaipur to marry Vardhaman, a wealthy young doctor in Mumbai.A debut novel by Sidharth Shangvi, Last Song of Dusk takes it readers through a melodious journey filled with a mix of emotions, bliss, love, lust, sadness, and revolves around three main characters, all of whom have tremendous depth and detail.Anuradha, the protagonist and her husband Vardhaman are the lead players in this tale. With a transitioning Bombay, influenced by the British Raj, in the backdrop, they meet and marry and procreate. In the midst of all this is Divibai, the hateful mother in law who is the anti-thesis of all things good, and her pet parrot that strangely says everything that Divibai thinks.In spite of Divibai, life is beautiful for Anuradha and Vardhaman. Mohan is their little son, who has brought even more beauty and joy into their lives. Alas this is not for very long. Calamity befalls Mohan, who passes away. Shangvi portrays this demise in a very dramatic and heartbreaking manner. Circumstances force Anuradha to go to her parents home to recoup. Here the third character in the novel joins the story. The untamed and wild Nandini Hariharan whose world is full of optimism, ambition, and drive, nothing can stop her. She becomes a surrogate daughter to Anuradha who takes Nandini back to Bombay.What happens after Anuradha and Nandini return to Bombay, forms the crux of the novel. … The back story of a homosexual Englishman and Indian who refuses to come out of the closet is thrown in gracefully, and brings verve to the main plot.Shangvi’s characters are well drawn up and profound. The melodious and delightful lady Anuradha, the calm and sophisticated sahib Vardhaman and the wild and reckless Nandini, each are well thought out and completely contrasting characters who in unison make beautiful music. The rest of the characters in the novel are beautifully laid out as well.A very unusual setting, Shangvi brings to life the Bombay of yesteryears, the salon lifestyle and the memsahibs. For a change, no mention of the slums of Bombay or the poverty that it soaks in. The lifestyles of the eccentric, rich and popular are brought out charmingly in this narrative.A strong element of fantasy is magnificently interwoven into a poignant love story – Dariya Mahal, the house with passion, a woman’s lure for leopards, a girl who walks on water, supernatural music that triggers happenings and many other intonations that are surprisingly apposite to the situation.This book will be republished in June 2006 in the US after, being on the bestseller list in other parts of the world. Shanghvi, who was 26 years old when his bestselling debut novel “Last Song of Dusk” was honored with U.K’s, Betty Trask award and Italy’s Premio Grinzane Cavour. Do we have another Hari Kunzru in the making? Labeled by the media as the next Arundhati Roy, or Salman Rushdie version 7.0, Shangvi lives in Bombay and Northern California. Shangvi using his poetic, elegiac, rythmic and harmonious use of language and a strong and eventful plot seduces his readers with The Last Song of Dusk. Shangvi entertains, thrills, distresses, surprises and provokes his readers with wit, charm and incredulity. This certainly is not Shangvi’s last song, looks like the concert is just beginning.Anuradha’s throat felt like a live coal. She looked up and tears raced down her cheeks. Where are the small mercies? Right then, through the tearful prisms of her gaze, she saw a most spectacular sight. There, in the distance, in a raggedy blue gown, hair cut short as a tramp’s, arms bamboolike, feet making long strides, was an adolescent girl walking over Lake Pichola. And what do you know! She was as lovely as the moonlight stuck in puddles. No, Anuradha argued with herself, this cannot be. I’ve been asked to believe much in the last few months. But a girl walking on water? No! I won’t buy that. To confirm her doubt, she ran breathlessly down to the pergola, where she motioned to the girl. The ruffian looked up as slowly as she could: her hair was wild but secre in it’s wildness, and her stride was strikingly feline.“Were you really walking on water?” Anuradha asked her when she was in earshot. “Walking on water?” the girl said, entirely unflustered. “That’s nothing! You should see how I do it on land.”

Book: The Last Song of DuskAuthor: Siddharth Dhanvant ShangviPublisher: Random HousePages: 336 pages

Thursday, June 15, 2006

This is not just the story of a shattered American dream… This is a young and ambitious 19 year old that we are talking about. The summer holidays are here. School and university students get their three-month break to recover from 10 months of lessons and homework. This is their time to rejuvenate, energize and ready themselves before another school year begins. It’s the same for Kaavya Vishwanathan, who is a mere 19 years old, but is dealing with a misfortune that even adults find hard to stomach.Internet blogs like Gawker and Puritan City reek with tittle-tattle and chitchat about how Viswanathan was found smoking at a nightclub in Cambridge, “I saw her at a cinco de mayo party at 44 jfk on friday night. My friend was a little drunk and was shouting about Salman Rushdie. She did not look pleased. Another friend later found her in a more secluded room smoking and told her that “smoking kills.” A lame satire article in Forbes magazine by Karl Shmavonian titled Kaavya Viswanathan’s Secret Stash, talks about an enraged former roommate who handed over a hidden stash of unfinished manuscripts to literary scholars. The article scrutinizes and dissects some of the manuscripts and says that, “Historians were also tantalized by notes indicating that she was sketching a virtual history, entitled Peace and War: How Napoleon Got Crowned, Got Eager and Got a Country, in which the emperor was victorious in his desire to conquer Russia.” According to the satire, Viswanathan’s roommate is working on a memoir!The world can be a cruel place especially for those that are trying to nurse themselves back to normalcy.While everyone is talking about how she failed, and how she may never write again. No one seems to be thinking about how one so young is coping with this calamity between school and exams. Yes, this is the story of the 19 year old that shot up to fame and came crashing down even before she reached the top. The story that has been in every media one can think of. Her downfall was an even bigger story than the $500,000 contract itself.After my interview with her I came away believing, then and now, that this was just another likeable teenager with quirks of her own. She was charming and beautiful, young and bubbly, audacious and opinionated. She was rushing from one interview to another, while managing classes and her many extra curricular activities. She is a foodie, who loves to cook, shop and travel. She loves the theater and the arts and hopes to become an investment banker. She loves her parents but scrunches her nose at their choice of music and clothes. She is just another teenager.What forced Kaavya to take on so much, at so young a life? Who was pressurizing her to maybe perform more than she could give? Or was this just a teenager on hyper drive who wanted it all? Is this going to change her personality from the bubbly person she was to a more withdrawn and quiet person? When will her life return to normalcy? So many unanswered questions.Bottom line, she was and is just a teenager who has her whole life ahead of her. She needs to be left alone so that she can cope with her emotions. One misstep cannot and will not mean the end of one so young and vulnerable.Harvard students, that know her, say that Viswanathan is coping rather well and working hard at getting her normal routine back on track. She is back to attending her usual parties and events and goes to her regular hangouts. She is believed to have said that “this is just a temporary media frenzy which will eventually die down”.This I believe… Viswanathan is an extremely resilient teenager with a drive and ambition that will see her through. . She will return after a summer of recovering and recouping and continue to work through school as successfully as she did before. In time, she would have learned from her mistakes, achieved her goals, and become a successful person. Time is healer time will mend… Give her a few years to recoup, heal, and she will be back, with a vengeance…

Kavita Daiya is currently Assistant Professor of Postcolonial Theory in the Department of English, and affiliated faculty in the Women’s Studies Program at George Washington University. Her research and teaching interests include Postcolonial Literature and Cinema, Colonial History, Transnational Feminisms, South Asian American Literature, Race and Ethnicity, and Visual Culture. Dr. Daiya holds a PhD from the English department at the University of Chicago, and is currently working on her book Violent Belongings: Gender and Nation in the Postcolonial Public Sphere. On What Happened…I’ve seen the passages in Viswanathan’s novel that are similar to those in Megan McCafferty’s works, and I would ascribe those similarities to both carelessness and to genre. While I think Viswanathan was careless in not being attentive to the question of plagiarism and originality before releasing the text to Alloy, it seems far fetched to argue that Viswanathan deliberately, maliciously and intentionally plagiarized phrases (like “sweet and woodsy”) from these specific works! On Plagiarism In The Chick-Lit Genre…I am inclined to agree with those who have also pointed out that many of these similarities emerge from the generic conventions within which both writers work: there are certain tropes, archetypal plots, linguistic features, stock characters, etc. that most if not all of the novels in the young adult genre share. In a way, that is the difference between a literary novel written by a Kazuo Ishiguro, Arundhati Roy or Toni Morrison, and the works written for and as a part of a particular genre by McCafferty and Viswanathan. On Other Upcoming Young Adult Writers Being Affected…I think young adult writers in the future might be more careful, might think a little more self-consciously about this potential charge of plagiarism when they write. But I do think the fact of the genre and its conventions do constitute a limit and frame for the creative possibilities: and add to that the reality of a certain type of novel becoming commercially successful like Sophie Kinsella’s novels, and publishers therefore following suit trying to find the next Kinsella. On Packaging… It is unfortunate that a “packaging” company like Alloy has now emerged to mediate between a writer and a publisher, and to essentially transform an author’s creative output into a “product” that will produce sales for a publisher. Because this has now started involving not only producing the cover design but also altering the text, the story and its language to fit a particular saleable dominant, personally I find this very troubling. It takes the commercialization of literature to a new level. Because this kind of novel is not only about creative literary production, but more about producing a popular product for consumption. So all this raises important questions about how we think of originality, newness and authorship in the modern world…in a way, it deconstructs our myths about the lonely struggling writer working away at his craft in the garret to produce a unique and original work: showing that often it is just that, a myth, an idealization. Originality and authenticity are, after all, constructs and artifacts of modernity. On The Media Overexposing The Case… I think the media has definitely overexposed the case, giving it more salience than necessary, in part probably because of the high financial stakes for Viswanathan, and the Harvard connection: the prestige and status of Harvard as the leading educational institution not only in the US but also globally, has unfortunately given a greater visibility than warranted to this book and its young author studying at Harvard.On Viswanathan Writing And Being Published Again…Yes of course she should write again, and if she writes well, should be published again. Let me clarify that academic honesty is a very serious issue that I take up regularly in my classes: one has to both educate students on what constitutes plagiarism and its seriousness, and to critique the instances of plagiarism that one encounters in higher education. But I believe that with respect to the Viswanathan controversy, it is less interesting to ask ‘Did she plagiarize or not?’ or ‘Did she intend to copy McCafferty?’ Instead, I think it is more important to look at the discourse generated around her and ask: Viswanathan seems to have become an icon in the public sphere upon whom a cultural crisis about authorship and authenticity have coalesced, given the increasing corporatization in the US of ‘literature.’

Meera Nair's debut collection, Video, received the Asian-American Literary Award for Fiction in 2003 and was named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post. She is a recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts and The New York Times. Her work has appeared on NPR's Selected Shorts, as well as in The Threepenny Review, Calyx, The New York Times, The National Post, India Abroad and an anthology of Asian-American writing, Charlie Chan is Dead 2. She is at work on her first novel, to be published by Pantheon.On What Happened… Given the news stories that are now coming out that she was packaged and marketed for the right demographic like any other product by a team of savvy publishers, I am beginning to feel sorry for her. Perhaps she had the makings of a really good writer--at least Amitav Ghosh thought so---before these people got to her. I think she was under a lot of pressure to produce that book. By all accounts, it sounds interesting enough, it's sounds smart and engaging---and it would have probably been a better book if they had let her write it without all the pushing and polishing involved.On Other Upcoming Young Adult Writers Being Affected…Maybe now publishers will fact check obsessively, editors will actually do their job, and care about literary merit than smart marketing. Or maybe this will be a big deal until the next good-looking, young teen author comes along!On The Media Overexposing The Case… I think there was a case of immigrant envy going on! What's with these Indian-American writer's anyway----here's yet another Indian-American author making good, getting the fat advance and the world-class movie deal—good god, don't they every stop--that kind of thing. So when she ended up with rather large quantities of egg on her face, the howling for her head was that much louder. At last, here's a successful Indian-American writer who tripped up! I think it ties in with the whole immigrant debate ---the good immigrant versus the not-so-good immigrant and all that. What's more, she's a fox and the media loves to flash those photos around.On Viswanathan Writing And Being Published Again…Listen, she's 19 years old! If she can really write, nothing's going to keep her down. Nothing should. If she can't write--well then, that's the end of the story. Anyway, she has managed to stack up more material to mine for stories than most 18 year olds, in a pretty short time.

Kavita Daswani is the author of several works in the chick-lit genre including “For Matrimonial Purposes” and “The Village Bride of Beverly Hills.” She has been a fashion correspondent for CNN, CNBC Asia, and Womens Wear Daily. A native of Mumbai, she currently lives in Los Angeles.On Viswanathan’s Book… I read her work. I even endorsed it on the cover. I liked it - thought it was funny and well-written. I thought she had a lot of talent.On Plagiarism In The Chick-Lit Genre…I think that plagiarism itself is an anomaly. But it does call attention to the entire genre, and that could be a good thing. Not every female Indian writer is 19 years old and prone to things like this. With regards to plagiarism in the chick-lit genre, not more so than other genres - although I can see how dealing in certain story lines and characters can be limiting.On Packaging… I can see how it could work, definitely. If there's raw talent there, but a writer needs help getting his or her ideas out there, there's no reason why he or she can't bring in a packaging company to help them put something together. On The Media Overexposing The Case… The main reason it was overexposed was because of Kaavya's youth, and the amount of money she was paid for her work. If it were a 40-year old writer who was given an unspectacular advance, probably very little attention would have been drawn to it. On Viswanathan Writing And Being Published Again…Give it a few years. and some experience and insight on her part. Maybe, eventually, it will be forgotten and she can have another go. People can be forgiving. But the most important thing is that she should have something to offer, and an authentic voice that people will want to hear.

Mitali Bose Perkins was born in Kolkata, India, and lived in several countries (England, Ghana, Cameroon, and Mexico) before settling as a seventh-grader with her parents and two sisters in California. Ms. Perkins is the author of several novels for young readers, including Monsoon Summer, The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, Rickshaw Girl, and a forthcoming two-book series about a President’s daughter.On What Happened… I have no idea what happened, but I believe her when she says that the plagiarism wasn’t volitional. It’s impossible to prove, I know, and the evidence against her has been clearly articulated by many people, but I’m going to stay in her corner. Besides, “innocent until proven guilty” is one of the strongest cornerstones in civil societies. One of my goals is to champion teens caught between cultures, and Kaavya is definitely one of those. I admire the way Megan McCafferty has responded without condemnation towards a younger writer. On Other Upcoming Young Adult Writers Being Affected…Publishers will be reluctant to launch a young writer into the adult book world with as spectacular of a splash, but that’s probably good. A headline-generating teen debut is not the best way to begin your career when you’re thinking about sustaining it over the long haul. Christopher Paolini (Eragon, The Inheritance) seems to be sailing through success without much ado, but that’s probably because he published for children and teens, not for adults. The children’s book world is a safer, smaller circle to join when you’re a teen writer — and not necessarily less lucrative these days. On Packaging A Writers Work By A Company…I’m not a story snob. Packagers help create a series of entertaining reads for people who want fixes featuring their favorite characters, like Nancy Drew, etc. The lasting impact and depth of fiction, however, has to be affected when generated quickly in committee instead of slaved over by one person. (As I am slaving over a book right now, I certainly hope I’m right.)On The Media Overexposing The Case… For writers, editors, and publishers, this case has been a wakeup call and a chance to reflect on copyright and the creative process. Teens have reflected on the dangers and ethics of plagiarism. Within the South Asian community, it’s been healthy to scrutinize the pressure on young people to succeed. For Kaavya, though, I’m sure the international criticism has been devastating. While good may yet come to her out of this mess, I’m sure she wouldn’t have applied to be a catalyst of change.On Viswanathan Writing And Being Published Again….If we’re prevented from writing because of mistakes we’ve made that have inflicted pain on ourselves and others, which one of us would be “allowed to write?” Once Kaavya has had a chance to heal and reflect, I would wholeheartedly encourage her to write again. The suffering endured and the lessons learned can refine her writing and inspire her to create powerful stories.Of course she can be published again. Other writers have worn a scarlet “P” and survived to tell another tale. When you’re nineteen years old, the future is full of second chances and fresh starts.

A young teenager with a gift for the written word messed up. So how has the world reacted to it? Quite dramatically! There’s many who continue to condemn her and scratch the bottom of the pot to find more faults, there are those who believe that Viswanathan was taken for a ride and her agent and packaging company were equally responsible for the mistakes, and then there are those who believe that what’s happened has happened, let’s move on. Many students at Universities worldwide are also reacting similarly, with reactions ranging from feeling sorry, getting angry and taking malicious satisfaction in another person's troubles. “As for my students, they were rather gleeful. They'd talked about her success jealously before--so the schadenfruede was palpable!” says Meera Nair, writer and teacher of creative writing.From this incident arises the larger issue of young adults' comprehension of plagiarism. Teaching young high school and college students how to quote other writers and making them understand what plagiarism is has always been a challenge for teachers of English. College English composition classes are a pre-requisite and try to emphasize upon how not to plagiarize and how to accurately quote from other works. “Academic honesty is a very serious issue that I take up regularly in my classes: one has to both educate students on what amounts to plagiarism and its seriousness, and to critique the instances of plagiarism that one encounters in the academy and in higher education,” says Kavita Daiya, Assistant Professor of English at George Washington University.The question of “responsibility” is also another huge issue arising from this controversy. Many are wondering where Kaavya Viswanathan’s agent, her editor at Little Brown and more importantly the packaging company Alloy Entertainment, figure in this equation. Many question why Alloy Entertainment is listed before Kaavya Viswanathan’s name in the novel. Did they indeed get 50% of the advance and royalties from the sale of the book. Is this scandal completely Viswanathan’s responsibility or is she a scapegoat? While so many come forward to take credit when the going is good, should there not be others coming forward to share responsibility during this misfortune?Daiya says, “For me, this incident also raises very important and urgent questions about responsibility on the part of Alloy, the packaging firm, as well: To what extent has the original text been reworked to fit the successful prototype in this genre by Alloy? What was their true role in the translation of this story into a ‘package’/product? After all, Alloy’s name appears before Viswanathan’s on the novel's copyright line, and this is significant. So while it is easy to attack and pillory the young, stereotypically successful model minority teenager, I do think the question of responsibility for those similarities is more complex, and lies as much if not more with Alloy’s “packaging” (and perhaps with her agent as well) as Viswanathan.” Sharmila Sen is an Assistant Professor of English at Harvard and refused to comment, “I am afraid that I cannot comment on this incident. Kaavya was my student last semester and as a teacher I make it rule never to discuss my students outside the confines of departmental meetings.” Amitav Ghosh, the eminent Indian American author, who is also a visiting professor at Harvard reportedly issued rare words of praise and endorsed Viswanathan’s work and said, "At Harvard, there are many, many very fine writers. Her writing has a kind of a pitch-perfect novelist's diction. At her age, that is very unusual." He was unavailable for comments after the scandal surfaced.“Ms. Viswanathan says that she alone is responsible for borrowing portions of two novels by Megan McCafferty, "Sloppy Firsts" and "Second Helpings." But at the very least, the incident opens a window onto a powerful company with lucrative, if tangled, relationships within the publishing industry that might take fans of series like "The It Girl" by surprise,” says an article in the New York Times.“… the publishing contract Little, Brown signed is actually with Alloy, which holds the copyright to "Opal" together with Ms. Viswanathan. Neither Little, Brown nor Alloy would comment on how much of the advance or the royalties — standard contracts give 15 percent of the cover price to the author — Ms. Viswanathan is to collect,” adds the article in the New York Times. Many wonder if this is a simple case of a packaging company using a smart and beautiful young woman to be their media facing person, to get publicity and boost sales of a formula based chick-lit novel.Salman Rushdie issued a statement to the media soon after similarities between his novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Viswanathan’s book surfaced. “I haven't seen the book, I have seen the passages that were compared between the two books, I must say I don't accept the idea that this could have been accidentally or innocently done. The passages are too many and the similarities are too extensive,” Rushdie is reported to have said. Like many other writers who shared angst at Viswanathan’s predicament, Rushdie said, “this young girl, pushed by the needs of a publishing machine and, no doubt, by her ambition should have fallen into this trap so early in her career. I hope she can recover from it.” Rushdie blamed both the author and the publisher for the mess and said "both are responsible. But I know when I write a book it's my name on the book so I stand or fall by what I sign. And so must she.”Tanuja Desai Hidier’s official statement is yet to be released. During the course of my conversation with Viswanathan she clearly indicated that she had not read Tanuja Desai Hidier’s work. In fact she did not even know who Hidier was. I had to tell her about Hidier and her book and Viswanathan listened to me intently and said “Oh I should read it.” Sashi Tharoor, author and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information said in an exclusive interview with this writer, "I think people are losing sight of the fact that a teenage girl had the energy, creativity and discipline to write a book. Parts of it may have been derivative or imitative, but the fact remains that 90% of her material was not plagiarized. She is now going through a terrible repudiation that even much older people would find difficult to endure. I hope she does not let it destroy her faith in herself. I would urge her to remember what she felt like writing all those pages that came from her own imagination, and what she experienced on first seeing her finished book in her hands.”“The best answer to her critics will be if Kaavya can return to that creative process -- write another book, because she knows in her heart of hearts that she is capable of it. It may not be a book that a packager would find lucrative, but it would be a truer book, and she will be a stronger writer for having been through this crucible and emerged from it with her writer's soul intact," he added.